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This set is more than likely the one's that I'm going to do for my final. The base fabric is a really sheer silk, and the wire frame structure will either be black or white, I'm not sure which yet...

The pattern gets laid out on the fabric, and then the whole sheet gets dyed. Then, I'll have to discharge out the blue/green dye to get the white veins in it, and then cut the wings out and assemble the wings. Luckily, for my final, I just have to have the fabric dyed and discharged; I don't have to have the wings fully assembled, otherwise, I might die.

Ha, bad joke.

Get it? Dye. Die.

I know, I'm horrible.

I really don't like fairy wings where the wire is all around the edge of the wings; I much prefer the fabric to be able to hang loose and flutter. Besides, I think it defeats the purpose to dye the fabric if you have to do two identical layers - you mine-as-well paint them in that case, since the thickness of the paint wouldn't matter if there are two layers, and they're stiff so they don't move!

an un-watermarked one would be great! i really appreciate it. when i go looking for a tattoo i always look on dA first because i rather use someone's art work from here then let a tattoo shop design it. plus, i love your wings!

I was just doing some silk dyeing the other week--instead of discharging out the white, you could try using something called Batik EZ. It's a fabric resist, just like people use in the wax-batik method, but way easier!
You paint it on your fabric first where you want areas to be white, and then you dye it (either paint the dye on or dip it). The resist washes out in water--pretty cool, huh? Here's a link to how to use the Batik EZ: [link]
I've also heard you can use Elmer's blue school glue gel.
Here's a link to the gel glue method:[link]
Let me know how that works for you!

I was definitely thinking of doing something like that, but I'm afraid that it won't allow me to fold up the fabric like I will need to to get the mottled dying affect for the other layers... do you know if it cracks or anything like that? My instructor dissuaded me from doing anything like that, because they tend to crack...

Thank you for the links, though - I'll definitely see about using them, either for this or something else

Yeah, if you used wax like most batiks usually do, then they'd crack, but I don't think this stuff does--I just did a silk scarf, and if you rinse the resist out, it won't have a chance to crack.
Just out of curiosity, why would this method not allow you to fold or crunch up the fabric? Once the resist dries, you can flex it and all--at least I'm almost positive.
Do you plan on dipping it for the dye, using brushes, or squeeze bottles? I'd love to know how all this turns out!

I thought most batik's kept you from being able to crunch up the fabric, as it normally cracks. Even the one's that aren't completely wax based sometimes get that bleed underneath, I thought... hmm... now I definitely have to play with that!

I'm going to be folding up the fabric and applying the dye with bottles in various concentrations, trying to achieve a more mottled pattern. I may have to dip it for the initial light blue, though, just to have that as a nice base, but I'm hoping I can get away without having to do that, too *crosses fingers*

It really does depend--it can get crackly with the wax batik of course, but it's always fun to experiment, at least! Good luck with that!

With the dipping, you can mix up a dye in an old milk jug with the top 1/3 cut off, and that makes a nice cheap dipping pot. The mottled application sounds nice, especially for the loverly wings.
Happy dyeing! (hahaha, puns...)

I'm definitely going to try a batik resist one of these days, thank you!

I just thought I'd let you know that the discharging worked phenomenally, especially if you mix it with a thickener meant for silk painting... it's super easy to work with, and for some reason, doesn't smell as bad as discharge did when we worked with it in class...

From PRO Chemical, they sell something called "Formosul" [link] -- you have to mix it with some other products, but it's really fantastic to work with... except when it smells...

You apply it (you can hand paint it on, or screen print it, or even use it as a dip to get all of the dye off of something), wait for it to dry completely, and then wrap it in brown paper and steam it for 15 minutes to 45 minutes, and it lifts out most of the dye... I noticed it didn't lift off the darker blue dye, but that's okay, I like how it still looks mottled even in the white, but I'd definitely recommend a test on whatever colors you're using

I like these ones more too, but I think I would probably combine them, where I'd have a full wire wing, but make the fabric still flow off of that, or do something in between so it has structure and flowing fabric ^^

Actually, I'm using millinery wire, which is a lot harder to bend than standard wire - you really have to get a good yank on it to get it to do anything (it's how it's made, so you don't easily bend the brims of hats - it's actually twisted as it's extruded) I'd never try something like this with regular wire, that's for sure! Millinery wire really is a great product for odd things like this